Cuthbert's Little Plainsong Psalter

By John Dunn

This book contains 154 plainsong Psalm passages with antiphons. The solitary monastic, Brother Cuthbert, designed these for use in his personal/private Liturgy of the Hours. For each of the liturgical hours he has chosen Psalm passages around themes and key words.The Psalm passages for Terce, Sext, and None are Laments and Penitentials, Remembrances of the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus. Cuthbert's Psalter honours an ancient tradition which relates these hours to the Gospel events of Jesus' crucifixion: Jesus nailed to the cross at nine in the morning, darkness covering the whole world at noon, and Jesus dying at three in the afternoon (Mark 15:25,33,34,37). The Psalm passages uttered by Jesus himself in his last hours are here sung in the triduum leading to Sunday. In these passages Jesus speaks to us and cries out to his Father. Cuthbert's Vespers Psalms sing of being brought low and raised up again, God's rescuing love. His Compline is a coda to Vespers and continues this theme. Compline traditionally celebrated Jesus' Harrowing of Hell, the rescue of the Old Testament saints from the underworld. Cuthbert's key words for Compline are night, darkness, shadow, the grave, death, anguish, and rescue. The two Offices, Vespers and Compline develop the themes of Resurrection and Redemption.Cuthbert's Midnight Watch Psalms sing of longing for God, of waiting and watching for the coming of the Messiah in hope and trusting.His Lauds Psalms themes are praise and joy, celebrating the beauty of God's creation and His love for the poor and downtrodden manifest in His covenant commitment to justice. His Prime Psalms celebrate the Epiphany of God in radiance and enlightenment, manifest in the beginning of the day.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1521391521
• ISBN13: 9781521391525
• Release Date: May 2017
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 329 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 10.0" x 0.8" x 7.0"